Cardcaptors: Warriors of the Realm
by Mysterious Voice Guy
Summary: My first fic posted in a while. Sequel to all the other Realm stories out so far (Bold New, Within, Forces, and Secrets), the battle against the Xen strike force continues with unrelenting fevor. However, several questions come up: has Li turned traitor?


Cardcaptors: Warriors of the Realm  
Sequel to Cardcaptors: Secrets of the Realm  
[If this is the first one in the series you're reading, you're seriously out of order. Don't blame me when nothing makes sense.]  
By Ryan Edgerton (that would be me!)  
  
(Continued from Secrets of the Realm... time for flashbacks!)  
  
"Are those the ones?" One of the three inquired, pointing to Li and Sakura.  
"Yes. Only they could have broken the seal and unlocked the Linking Book to the world of protected treasures." Replied another.  
"Do you think they have The Warrior Card?" The third questioned.  
"Possibly. We must be certain first, though." Replied the second voice that had spoken.  
"And how shall we go about doing that?" Inquired the first voice.  
"Hm..., the prophecy said that only two chosen children could unlock the seal, and only the Cardcaptor that had unleashed Clow Reed's Cards could open the seal to the world of protected treasures, but it did not say that the Card would necessarily go to either one of the two."  
  
"Nice to meet you." Tyra extended her hand to him.  
"You too." Yuri shook her hand.  
At that second, a weird feeling shot through Tyra like a lightning bolt. Without a second's hesitation she knew what the feeling was, and she did her best to hide her surprise behind a smile.  
'He's a Cardcaptor...!' She thought to herself.  
  
"What do you propose we do?" Nevot inquired of Senict.  
"We must lure out all of Sakura's close and semi-close relations and friends who could be Cardcaptors out into a battle." She handed him a small thin computer pad. "I have here DNA samples readings from all of our presently observed possibles. Once all the Cardcaptors are lured out into the open, all we need do is scan them and compare samples."  
"We should also use the opportunity to attempt to get whoever has The Warrior Card to reveal themself. If we each use our Cards, we should provide an ample threat to force each Cardcaptor to use everything they've got, including The Warrior to whom it may apply." Ctsen proposed. "If we are fortunate, we may be able to leave this planet of disgrace by the week's end."  
  
"Now we'll see a little action." Ctsen stated, hovering in mid-air high over the city. Senict was next to him, hovering, with an uncertain look on her face.  
Below them, three Cardcreatures took aim and blasted massive craters in nearby buildings, roads, and whatever else was within striking distance. Each creature was different and each was evidently dangerous beyond belief. The Blight, a humanoid Cardcreature who's body was made mostly out of thick dark-green clouds with black-armor bracers on both it's legs and arms, a shiny white breastplate on it's chest with a glowing dark purple gem inset in it's center, and a black-energy staff with scythes at both ends in it's hands, was doing serious damage all around as it's staff radiated bolts and shocks of neon-blue electricity. The Phantom, similar in many ways to The Shadow with the differences being the green-brown energy cloud that hung like a field all about it's body and the dark-green diamond-shaped gem set into it's forehead, sent a small spear of black energy flying from it's 'hands' as it took aim at a nearby building. The spear exploded into a cloud of darkness upon contact with the building, causing anything the cloud touched to cease to exist. The final Card, and by far the most dangerous, was a giant black-flame Phoenix called The Legend. It's every movement sent sparks of black fire into the air, bursting into full-blown wildfires whenever it touched something remotely flammable. It flew near enough to a water tower to cause the wooden structure to catch fire, and a huge rush of steam and smoke ensued as the burning darkness overpowered the water inside. If these three titanically-powerful Cardcreatures got any farther into the city, who knows what kind of destruction they could cause.  
Senict did, and she wasn't exactly thrilled.  
"I hope those Cardcaptors show up soon." She stated, as monotone as she could muster.  
  
Yuri could feel it. It was happening again. What, he had no idea, but he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that this feeling was familiar. He stumbled blindly into a dark alleyway nearby, clutching his stomach as if in pain.  
A transformation began to take place. Yue was emerging.  
  
"You leave her alone!" Gabor suddenly and boldly stepped in-between Tyra and Yue, just as bold as Li had been. "Can't you see she's hurt?"  
"Not my concern. I need to know what we're up against, and I need to know now." Yue retorted.  
  
It had all begun a very long time ago, over 3000 years ago, in an ancient city deep in the uncharted heart of Asia by the name of Kaniasaa. It was a city known only my most in myths and legends, where few people not native to the city had ever ventured. This was the city where it all began. This was the city of all Cardcaptors' histories' origin.  
  
"One of the Xen's most unique weapons during the war, and one of the reasons they felt they could never return and rejoin Faluura's societies." She explained. "Cosmos was their champion battle Card, destroyed about halfway through the Surro-Terkaan wars, and it had the power to transform anyone who would allow it into living energy. Problem was, the transformation was permanent."  
  
(End flashbacks! And now, back to the realm!)  
  
Chapter1- A Little Inquiry  
  
It was now the day after the Xen Cardcaptor's initial attack that had caused the whole city to panic. The sun was high in the sky, unveiling the destruction-riddled parts of the upper side of the city in all their nightmarish apocalyptic ruin. The fires had died out during the night and now even a few people made their way in and through the hideous place, checking bodies and searching for loved ones.  
This kind of scene made Draeon think. For once, his insaniac need to cause and see destruction was countered by a more prevalent thought.  
Who the (censored) were those guys?!  
He himself hadn't gotten a good look at them, but if all of this was any indication, these Cardcaptors had to be somethin' else. He knew of only a few Cards in existence that could cause this kind of destruction on their own, one being The Warrior Card he'd had snatched from his hands by the Remnant Cardcaptor brats almost half a year ago. This was not the work of a single Card, of course, but it did remind one just how powerful a Card could be in the right, or wrong, hands. He decided he'd seen enough and turned to go.  
He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw who was behind him.  
"Well! White Tiger, come to see the city's latest 'hot spot', have you?" He laughed, talking about the destruction visible behind him. "Or perhaps you're going to try once more to reel me in like a fish on a hook so you can send me back to Faluura in handcuffs and chains for trial?"  
"No such interest,... this time." Tyra was stern. Draeon noted that she didn't have her sword out, and decided it might soon be best to 'take advantage' of the situation. "I've got a few questions I want to ask you about The Warrior."  
"Lovely Card, wouldn't you agree?" Draeon didn't even sound amused with that joke himself. Fact of the matter is that he wanted that Card back very badly. "But then you would know, since you and your white-cloaked friend snatched it away from me almost six of this planet's months ago. What's so troubling about it that you'd need to ask *me* of all people for the answers?" He inquired.  
"The people who caused that 'hot spot', as you put it, are after it."  
"They've got good taste in Cards." Draeon noted.  
"What's more, they're Xen Cardcaptors."  
That caused Draeon's memory to jog. The Xen and the ZaeT'kno had been allies during the Surro-Terkaan wars, but Xen Cardcaptors had not been heard from for hundreds of years!  
"Very interesting..." Draeon rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "But I still don't see your point."  
"I wanna know why they're after The Warrior in specific. Think, Draeon! If you had the kind of power they do, would you go after just one Card or every Card this planet has to offer? Huh?"  
"You may have a point there." Draeon rubbed his hands together greedily. "But I still don't think I can give you the information you're looking for."  
"Oh, I think you know exactly what info I need to know." She stated with a sharp look in her eyes.  
Suddenly, Flight came dashing out of the skies at awesome speeds, snatching Draeon's Card pouch off his belt. The bird flew to Tyra's side and hovered there as Draeon fumed in rage and lunged forward after the pouch, but without success. Flight tossed the pouch to Tyra as the Cardcreature suddenly began to glow, and as Tyra caught it a pair of wings began to appear on her back as Flight flashed out of existence.  
"Just what do you think you're doing??! Those belong to me!" He screamed, then got his usual wit back. "Is this what they taught you at 'Cardcaptor school', to steal your opponent's Cards?"  
"Let's see here..." Tyra thumbed through the Cards a few at a time. "I see Cards stolen from Cesio Cardcaptors, Kt-ama Cardcaptors, Darkcaptors, oh, and here's a rare one you snatched off a Omega Cardcaptor! And was that a Clow Card I saw in the back there?" She pulled the Card out and tossed it into the wind. "Looks like you don't have a single ZaeT'kno Card in this whole pack except your Thief Card; how predictable. I bet the owners of these Cards would really appreciate getting their hard-earned Cards back; what do you think, Draeon?"  
"You... you... you..." He exclaimed in blind rage, but had to admit that he was now powerless and at her mercy. And he was down his only Clow Card. She had him beat, and if he didn't agree to her terms she'd easily catch him in one of his own storage Cards and then he'd really be in trouble.  
"What about it, Draeon? You gonna tell me what I wanna know, or do I have to start redistributing Cards?" She threatened.  
"*OK*, you (censored) Remnant pest." He muttered everything but the 'OK'. "If it's The Warrior they want, they probably wanna use it to try to return themselves to normal."  
"Run that by me again?" Tyra inquired.  
"Geeze. They're trying to use Warrior to reverse the effects of Cosmos on their entire race. Basically, they wanna be human again. Either that, or they know something I don't about the Card."  
"It can do that?"  
"Of course it can do that, and a stinkin' lot else, too. Warrior's powers can be almost immeasurable because it can copy the powers of any Cardcreature it touches and it'll have those abilities for good. That's what makes it potentially the ultimate Card in existence; why did you think I wanted it, because it was invisible? Pu-lease!"  
Tyra had her answer. She tossed the Card pouch back to Draeon and he reattached it to his belt while keeping one eye on Tyra. He pulled out a teleport Card and then locked Tyra with a spiteful glare.  
"Oh, and by the way, 'Tiger'." He said, looking very peeved. "You're gonna pay for this, big time."  
He vanished in a flash of dark energy, leaving Tyra alone on the rooftop to contemplate what Draeon had told her.  
  
"They just wanna be human?" Meiling inquired as the four Cardcaptors met on a rooftop later that day. Gabor, Li, and Tyra stood nearby as she asked "What's wrong with that?"  
"Depends what they intend to use their humanity for." Li stated, arms folded and eyes closed in thought. "They could be hoping to infiltrate Faluuran society long enough to prepare for an attack, or maybe they're gonna try to use it some other way. Since they can't remain human permanently right now, the first sounds likely, if you ask me. I mean, we *are* dealing with established enemies of Faluura here."  
"Are we?" Tyra thought out loud. The others looked at her, not sure what she meant. "Their people have been exiled from the rest of humanity for centuries; maybe they just feel like they want to go home, that they want a second chance."  
"Excuse me?" Meiling interjected. "These Xen Cardcaptors toasted half of uptown Readington; something tells me they don't come in peace."  
"Meiling's got a point." Li stated, opening his eyes. "My instincts tell me they have an ulterior motive, at the least."  
"People will resort to drastic measures when they think they're race's future is on the line." Tyra stated.  
"How can you tell that?" Gabor inquired.  
"If they had simply wanted to return themselves to humans, all they would have had to do is ask us. As it is, though," Tyra stated. "I'm willing to bet that more people than themselves are involved in this. Why else would they feel they need to steal the Card from us?"  
"There could be lots of reasons." Li retorted. "But for right now we really don't have much choice except to consider them an enemy. Obviously enough if Yue considered them a big enough threat to face them himself, they've got lots of power backing themselves up."  
"Yue would be...?" Gabor inquired.  
"The guy with wings from the rooftop yesterday." Li explained further. "Clow Reed created him to test anyone who wanted to be a Cardcaptor of the Clow Cards, to see whether they're worthy or not. And what's more is that he's *not* human."  
"Looked pretty human to me." Gabor stated.  
"Looks can be deceiving." Li replied. "As for the other lady who was with him, I'm not entirely sure who she is, but I bet I can find out."  
  
Ruby Moon watched secretly from a distance, observing the four Cardcaptors that had gathered together on that rooftop. These 'kids' were industrious, to say the least. But the Xen Cardcaptors were likely more dangerous than they appeared to be.  
Suddenly, she spotted something on another rooftop opposite hers. It was a small black glint. Her Cardcaptor senses went into full alert as she realized that someone else was listening in on the kids, too. Without hesitation she jumped from her hiding spot, heading straight for the intruder.  
  
Meiling was cut off in mid-sentence as a red blur shot out of the darkness on a nearby rooftop and was headed towards them. The others instantly spun to look at what had surprised her and saw the figure too, but only seconds before she jumped onto the rooftop they were all standing on. She seemed to ignore the Cardcaptors, racing past them and leaping onto another nearby rooftop. A black-energy shadow wearing a silver-energy jumpsuit suddenly appeared and aimed a small blast of energy at the black-and-red clothed fighter, which she dodged with impressive agility. The two figures met in a dangerous clash, fists and feet flying at each other super fast.  
The four Cardcaptors needed no more of an excuse to get involved. Gabor, Tyra, and Li pulled out their swords as all four raced towards the fight. The Xen Cardcaptor, seeing so many opponents on high-speed approach, quickly back flipped into a nearby alleyway. A small rush of neon-green fog gushed out from between the buildings as the Xen spy made her escape back to wherever she'd come from.  
  
Ruby scowled slightly. That Xen Cardcaptor was fast, fast enough to escape Ruby's grasp with ease. The four Cardcaptors rushed up to her side and peered down into the empty alleyway, green fog still dissipating.  
"They're gone!" Meiling exclaimed. "Man that thing was fast!"  
"Xen Cardcaptors must be very well trained. She was particularly surprising." Ruby agreed. Then she turned to the four Cardcaptors. "I hope you can forgive me; I was kinda spying on you in case the Xen Cardcaptors decided to strike again."  
"You probably saved our lives." Gabor stated. "Thanks."  
"Who are you? I've been trying as hard as I can and I still haven't figured out where you fit into all this." Tyra inquired.  
"Call me Ruby Moon, Cardcaptor." She stated calmly. "For now, it seems we're on the same side, but don't cross me or you'll find out the real meaning of trouble."  
"What do you mean by that?" Li inquired.  
She turned to look at him, a smirk on her face.  
"You of all people oughta know who I am. Let's just say I'm Yue's partner."  
That sent a chill up Li's spine for sure.  
"But, don't rub me wrong, and I'm actually a pretty nice person, once you get to know me." She added with a teasing smirk.  
"So who are you for real? I mean, your 'secret identity'?" Meiling inquired.  
She waggled a finger at Meiling.  
"That's my little secret for now. I'll see you kids later, got it?" With that, she back flipped into the air and vanished in a sparkle of red and black energy.  
"Is it just me, or is reality suddenly getting a lot weirder?" Meiling asked.  
  
Sakura was not comfortable with what was going on at all. She only half-trusted Li with her Cards, and she felt like she was missing out on all the action because she was sick in bed. She groaned and rolled over to look at Kero.  
"I can't help it, Kero. I hate being out of the loop at times like this."  
"Yeah, well, that's reality for ya, kiddo. Even Clow Reed probably caught the flu once or twice himself, but trust me when I say you'll be back on the front lines before ya know it."  
"I sure hope you're right." She paused for a moment. "Kero, I'm not entirely sure I trust Li with my Cards."  
"I don't trust him period." Kero stated. "But we're just gonna have to hope that he'll be true to his word. You *know* he'd give his lazen board up for all the Cards you've caught so far."  
"Sometimes I feel like I barely even know him, Kero." That brought another thought to her mind. "What *do* we really know about Li Shoran?"  
"Ahh, good question." Kero folded his arms and took a seat at the foot of Sakura's bed. "Basically, we know very little about him except for these few things: he's a Cardcaptor, he's annoying, he's a decedent of Clow Reed, and he's got an ex-girlfriend named Meiling, who's come to pester us and make life *that* much more difficult. Besides that, we know almost nothing about him."  
"Sometimes I wonder..." Sakura's voice trailed off.  
  
Chapter2- Trick or Trap  
  
"They're onto us." Senict stated, rematerializing in the shadowed area filled with green fog. Nevot and Ctsen stood nearby, and turned to acknowledge her presence.  
"This time, the 'they' would be?" Ctsen inquired.  
"I was talking about the Remnant Cardcaptors as well as Sakura's friends, but you can also throw in Yuri and his teammate if you want. She spotted me spying on the other Cardcaptors just as my invisibility started to give out. I had no choice but to escape for fear of further exposure."  
"She was watching them as well?" Nevot inquired.  
"It appeared so."  
"What exactly do they know now?"  
"Our whole plan. They know why we're after The Warrior Card."  
"This *is* an unexpected turn of events." Nevot stated. "We will have to proceed with our plan ahead of schedule."  
"Is that wise, sir?" Ctsen inquired, still not entirely recovered from his injuries. "I mean, we haven't gathered all the information we'll need yet to find and extract The Warrior Card."  
"I didn't mean we'd jump straight to the final phase, Ctsen." Nevot returned. "Simply that we must now act quicker to get our desired information before The Warrior is hidden from our grasp forever. Senict, what do you think would be the best way to get the knowledge we seek."  
Senict was silent for a moment as she thought, then looked up at Nevot with a plan evident in her eyes.  
"Our enemies have proven very strong as a combined force. Perhaps they will be quicker to tell us what we want to know if we isolate and capture a single member."  
"And who would you propose?" Nevot inquired. "The choice is yours."  
"Two possibilities jump to mind," She proposed. "The girl Sakura, for starters. She's weak, unable to fight, and is likely to have the information we seek. However, that may just be what our enemies are predicting we'll do, and separating her would not prove to give us a combat advantage."  
"And the other was...?" Ctsen inquired.  
"Tyra." She stated. "She also likely knows about the Card's whereabouts, and by capturing her we can keep her from leaking any information about us that she hasn't already. Plus, I couldn't help but notice Gabor's devotion to her. If she won't tell us, perhaps for her sakes he will."  
"We are not terrorists, Senict." Nevot stated, then paused and turned away. "However, if we do not get the Card soon, our people may perish. Do what you have to."  
"I swear I will not fail, sir." She stated, then turned and vanished off into the fog. Once she was gone, Ctsen turned to Nevot, a distinctly concerned look on his face.  
"Are you sure that we need to do this??" He looked semi-shaken. "I know the fate of our people is on the line, but is this really the way we must go about it?"  
"I know Senict." Nevot stated calmly, but the distraught look on his face gave his emotions away. "She proposed the kidnaping idea as a last resort. Besides,..." He looked away, gazing off into the fog all around him. "...There is more at stake here than you know, my friend."  
  
The buildings zipped by below as Tyra flew home from a long day of work, intent on getting some rest. She used her wings to air-brake as she landed swiftly onto the slim balcony of her apartment. Her wings vanished and she stepped inside, content with the knowledge of her whereabout's secrecy. She pulled open the sliding door, stepped inside, and with a thought her Cardcaptor outfit glowed and vanished into a small white Card, her real clothes now visible in it's place. She walked over and set her answering machine to playback the day's messages as she went and got a soda out of her small, square fridge.  
"Hey Tyra, it's Gabor." Came Gabor's voice as message #1 played out. "I arranged for us to have another meeting with Li and Meiling tomorrow at the park. Li thinks he might have an idea to help us beat the Xen Cardcaptors. Call me back when you get the chance; 023-5112. God bless."  
"Hey Tyra!" It was the landlord. "Sorry I haven't gotten a chance to fix your air-conditioner yet, but I think I'll be able to get to it next week. OK? I'll talk to you about it when I get in tomorrow. Bye."  
She shook her head a little.  
"Air-conditioners; I may never understand this world's desire for so many luxuries." Tyra sighed as more messages played in the background. She pulled out a stack of crackers and munched a few down before suddenly one of the messages caught her attention.  
It was Li's voice.  
"Tyra, it's Li." He sounded half-worried and half-excited. "Listen, I've got some important new info on the Xen Cardcaptors that could change everything. Meet me as soon as you can at the park, by the penguin slide. And make sure you come in secret; you're the only one I can tell this to right now."  
The message sounded urgent alright, and Li *had* said to come as soon as possible. 'Guess I'll have to take a nap later.' Tyra thought to herself, deciding not to go Cardcaptor for this 'secret' meeting. Li must have been onto something big, and there was no way she'd attract attention to herself if she could avoid it. She re-secured her Card pouch to her belt and made her way out the apartment's front door.  
  
She made it to the park in pretty good time, and found the penguin slide without much difficulty. The place was deserted; all the little kids who usually hung out around here were probably all home and in bed by now, and Tyra hadn't seen more than a handful of people anywhere in the whole park so far. Something didn't quite feel right about all this; it reminded her too much of a scene from a horror novel she'd read once, but regardless of that she needed to know what Li had found out. She looked quickly around before spotting him as he emerged from behind the tall slide.  
"I'm glad you could come, Tyra." Li stated, his face strangely monotone.  
"You mentioned something about new leads on the Xen Cardcaptors." She reminded him. "Out of curiosity, why is this so secretive that you couldn't tell the others?"  
He turned his back to her, speaking over his shoulder.  
"No one saw you come here, right? Nobody knows about this?" Li inquired.  
"Yeah, you're the only one who knows I'm here. Li, you're starting to creep me out with this whole secrecy routine. Are you gonna tell me what you've found out or what??"  
Suddenly, an energy blast from out of the darkness hit Tyra square in the back, sending her to the ground. As she got back to her feet another blast hit her and sent her flying into the side of the penguin slide with a thud, knocking the wind out of her. Energy blasts continued to strike her with awesome accuracy as Li simply stood there, watching. The moment Tyra collapsed to the ground, unable to fight back any more, the blasts stopped. Ctsen walked out of the dark shadows of a nearby grove of trees, looking slightly drained from using up so much energy but ready at a moment to attack again if Tyra made a single wrong move. Li nodded in approval and then walked over to where Tyra was sprawled on the ground, barely able to move as black energy like electricity coursed through her body, causing her to convulse slightly.  
"What I came to tell you," Li stated in a calm voice. "Is that the Xen Cardcaptors have been watching you, Tyra. But I guess you've figured that out by now."  
The figure who appeared to be Li turned to Ctsen calmly.  
"Take her back to headquarters and make sure she doesn't try anything. If she escapes, then the mission will be in great jeopardy."  
Ctsen nodded, picked up the half-limp Tyra, and vanished into a vortex of thick green fog. Li, however, remained. There were a few things left to be done before the night was over.  
Behind him, a figure suddenly darted unnoticed into the vortex as it quickly closed.  
  
Gabor had barely settled in for the night when suddenly the telephone rang. He sighed in annoyance, muttered something about '24/7', then walked over and picked up the receiver.  
The voice on the other end caught him by surprise.  
"I take it I'm speaking with the 'Silver Card Keeper'? Or should I call you Gabor?" Inquired a feminine voice that Gabor knew belonged to the female Xen Cardcaptor he'd helped fight off yesterday. He almost did a doubletake when he realized she knew who he was.  
"You! How did you-?" He demanded, but was promptly cut off.  
"If you want to see Tyra again, meet me at the penguin slide in central park, ASAP. Come prepared to tell me the location of The Warrior Card. No tricks, and if you don't show up by sunrise,..." With that, the phone on the other end hung up.  
  
Chapter 3- Battle  
  
Tyra woke up with a massive migraine. She looked around to find herself floating weightlessly but unable to move, green fog all around her. Her whole body ached and she began to remember what had likely brought her here. The ambush.  
"Good, you're awake." Stated a masculine voice out of the fog.  
She looked to see an Xen fade in from amongst the fog that surrounded her, his hair black with sudden flashes of electric blue. His eyes were slim and had the look of an experienced leader, Tyra observed, and he wore the white-energy jumpsuit that seemed uniform for these Xen Cardcaptors.  
"Who are you?" She inquired. "Why have you brought me here?"  
"Both good questions, deserving good answers in return. I am Nevot, the leader of this expedition that seeks the legendary Warrior Card. I've had one of my two assistants capture you and bring you here so that we might be able to extract information from you about what we seek."  
"The Warrior Card." Tyra surmised. "What I want to know is what you plan to do with it if you get your hands on it."  
"What do you think I am, a fool?" Nevot returned. "Are you not a Remnant Cardcaptor? Are not Remnant and Xen Cardcaptors sworn foes from the Surro-Terkaan wars? Why would I ever trust you with that information?"  
"I know this much:" Tyra stated. "You want to use The Warrior's healing powers to become human again. All I want to know is the motives behind it."  
"I could never tell you that!" Nevot stated sharply. Then he looked away slightly. "Suffice to say that there is more at risk here than you know."  
"I think I can take a good guess." Tyra returned. "I have a hunch that this isn't just about you three, you've got all the Xen nations in mind." Her tone was calm, maybe even a little bit friendly. "You're fighting to give your people a second chance, a shot at rejoining the rest of the human race."  
Nevot paused for a long moment, looking away from her. His thoughts showed in his eyes as Tyra awaited his response. After several minutes of deliberation, he turned back to her once more.  
"That... is one factor, White Tiger. But the other half is the prevalent danger that you cannot begin to understand."  
Prevalent danger? Tyra wasn't sure what to make of that. The Xen had some kind of enemy they thought only The Warrior Card could defeat? But what? This had to be the missing piece, the one bit of information that would finally make the 'puzzle' of the Xen Cardcaptors make sense, and Tyra wanted to know badly what it was.  
Nevot turned to her once again.  
"You can hopefully understand my standpoint, but your understanding is not important so long as this mission can be completed successfully." He now began to show a short temper. "You *must* tell me the location of the Card now! If you don't, we'll make Gabor tell us; you have no chance to hide it from us any longer!"  
Suddenly and without warning, a figure shot out of the fog and nailed Nevot in the back with a missile kick, sending him falling downwards. This figure wasn't Xen, that much Tyra could tell at first glance, and a second glance revealed that it was Ruby Moon who'd come to her aid. Nevot rebounded quickly, hanging in mid-air as he leveled Ruby with two beams of black and neon-blue energy, one from each fist. Ruby caught herself, pulling to a stop in the weightless, perhaps floor-less environment, and was able to dodge Nevot's follow-up kick as he sped through the air at his target. Ruby took advantage of her evasiveness, grabbing Nevot's leg in mid-miss and using his own speed and force to throw him clean out of sight. She turned to Tyra.  
"Am I ever glad to see you!" Tyra exclaimed.  
"Well, don't get used to it. I'm not 'Batgirl', ya know." She chastised. "C'mon, lets get out of here while the getting's good!"  
"If I could have done that, wouldn't I have already?" Tyra returned. "I can't move an inch; it's like I'm paralyzed or there's-"  
Suddenly, a blast from Nevot shot through the green fog, headed straight towards Ruby. She saw it at the last second and dodged, but that left Tyra right in the line of fire! She panicked as the beam got closer, but when it suddenly exploded against an invisible bubble-shaped barrier she hadn't known was around her, she could suddenly move about freely. She exchanged a look with Ruby as the mysterious Cardcaptor finished her sentence.  
"- a stasis bubble around you?" She inquired, but didn't waste further time on clever lines. "C'mon, let's go!"  
The two shot like Superwomen through their green-fog-filled surroundings, Nevot trailing them and gaining quick. Tyra pulled out a set of Cards, her Cardcaptor outfit flashing into existence on her and Flight materializing nearby her. The one remaining Card was Tiger, and she'd need Tiger's power if she was gonna find her way out of here.  
"Flight! Buy us some time against that Xen Cardcaptor!" Tyra instructed, Flight shooting into action. Somewhere behind her, she heard Nevot activate a Card of his own, and suddenly Legend came shooting out of the strange, all-surrounding fog at superfast speeds. Flight and Legend met in a vicious clash, Flight turning into energy easily without gravity to slow it down and Legend's every flap sending up huge flashes of dark fire left and right.  
"Which way out?" Tyra inquired of Ruby.  
"How am I supposed to know?? It all looks the same, nothin' but green fog." Ruby retaliated.  
"Then it's up to Tiger to get us out." Tyra held out the Card, then said the power-activation word in Hebrew.  
Tiger's Card did nothing. Not a glow, not even a little shimmer.  
"We're doomed." Ruby surmised and moments later she dodged a blast of black fire from Legend and Flight's battle.  
"Our only chance is to pick a direction and hope we can escape that way." Tyra stated, then gave Flight a sharp whistle. The regal bird broke from the battle, super-speeding as a living energy blur to catch up with Tyra. With Legend and Nevot behind and in hot pursuit, the trio sped as fast as they could straight ahead, hoping to find a means of escape somewhere in the clouded darkness.  
For several more minutes it seemed that the fog-filled Xen base had no ends and no boundaries, and Nevot and Legend were still getting closer and taking their best shots at Tyra, Ruby Moon, and Flight. Tyra began to panic; if all they came across in this direction was a dead-end, it was game-over.  
Suddenly and without warning, the fog was replaced with... water? Tyra felt her face splash headlong into the liquid that formed a barrier around the Xen base, barely having enough time in-between spotting the water barrier and going through it to grab half a breath. She heard Ruby and Flight follow her through, the trio streaking into the water at speeds so fast it hurt, before physics suddenly reasserted itself and the water slowed them down. Tyra's mind went into overdrive with this new,... *wet*, revelation; the Xen base must be like a giant bubble somewhere below the waters nearby the city, she surmised as point one, and point two was that Legend wouldn't be able to follow them here (she hoped). That explained why Tiger hadn't pointed her to the way out: there was no wrong way to escape the bubble. Flight returning to it's Card form to keep from drowning, the Card floating directly into Tyra's hands, she and Ruby Moon immediately began to swim their way to the surface.  
Suddenly, a huge aquatic sound reached her ears, a sound like an underwater explosion going off. She turned for just a second to see Nevot still in hot pursuit, cutting through the water like a torpedo and a dark-blue orb-shaped shield surrounding his body. The sound must have been his going through the barrier; apparently he wasn't playing by the rules that physics was dictating. With his shield up he cut through the water with awesome ease, heading straight after Tyra and Ruby with no sign that the water was slowing him down.  
Suddenly, something from far above pierced the surface of the water, aimed directly at Nevot. The elemental arrow struck it's target with awesome precision and shattering Nevot's water-shield like glass. Tyra immediately decided to take advantage of the situation, she and Ruby swimming as hard as they could towards the surface.  
After what felt like forever, the air in their lungs on it's way to empty, Tyra and Ruby Moon pierced the surface of the water, immediately taking in a deep, relieved breath of much sought-after air. Nearby, hovering at least a dozen or so feet above the water, was Yue. 'He must have shot that arrow at Nevot.' Tyra deduced as she and Ruby searched for the nearest shore. Where they were surprised them both: visible in the distance were the city's docks and water-side warehouses, meaning they were in the water surrounding the docks. Yue swooped down low, grabbing Ruby's hands and air-lifting her out of the water. Tyra pulled out Flight and was soon airborne as well.  
"Why didn't you tell me the base was an underwater bubble?" Tyra inquired of Ruby as she flew alongside Yue towards the city, both she and Ruby still thoroughly soaked.  
"If I'd known, I would have told you when we were trying to escape." Ruby retorted.  
"Then how did you get in there?"  
"I was watching your little meeting with Li, and when that Xen Cardcaptor showed up I figured it would be best to follow him. I snuck past Li and jumped into the portal just as it closed, then laid low until you woke up." Ruby explained.  
"I owe you for that." Tyra stated, then got a worried look on her face. "I never would have thought Li would turn traitor like that."  
"We've no time to be wasting." Yue suddenly chimed in. "Li was still in the park last I saw him, and he appeared to be waiting for someone. I say we check it out."  
  
Nevot shot up through the surface of the waters, searching for Tyra and Ruby, as well as for whoever had shot him like that. He held his left hand over his shoulder as blue blood leaked through his fingers, his teeth clenched in pain. He'd been able to spot the arrow at the last few seconds, but not in time to dodge it. It had gone straight through his upper shoulder and then vanished into the depths, leaving him with a nasty hole in his upper shoulder. But if there was one thing Xen Cardcaptors were good at, it was healing quickly. He looked around, seeing his targets fleeing, and then grimaced in pain as his injury reminded him of it's presence.  
"Now everything is in danger." He said to himself. "I must stop them, before they ruin our last chance!"  
  
Chapter 4- Imposter, or Li Shoran?  
  
Gabor made his way carefully amongst the shadows of the trees, making sure not to alert Senict and Ctsen to his arrival. At present the two Xen Cardcaptors hadn't spotted him yet, but he was taking no chances. They talked between themselves, but Gabor could barely hear anything at this distance. One thing he knew for sure, though: if they did have Tyra hostage somewhere, she wasn't here.  
Suddenly, a green fog-spewing vortex appeared nearby, and Gabor ducked down lower to avoid being spotted by this new arrival. Nevot stepped out of the gateway, holding his right shoulder in pain, much to the surprise and shock of the other two. They rushed up to him as he fought to maintain calm breathing and an emotionless expression.  
"Sir! What happened?" Senict inquired in surprise.  
"Tyra's escaped." He replied. "She and Ruby Moon swam their way to the surface and then I got shot by a third person using some kind of special arrows. Don't worry, the wound will heal in time."  
"If they escaped, that means they know of our base's location." Ctsen sounded worried.  
"They are likely on their way here." Nevot stated. "Our only option is to regroup back at the base and rework our strategies."  
"But now, there's nowhere that we are safe." Senict deduced.  
"I say we make our stand and fight." Ctsen proposed. "The longer we delay, the more we risk."  
"More than you know, my friend." Nevot stated. "I'll explain to you once we are back at base. We shall save the fight for when we're better prepared."  
The three vanished in a large rush of green fog, the source being a vortex.  
Gabor sighed. Tyra was safe, and it looked like the Xen Cardcaptors were calling it a night. That was a relief to say the least. He stepped out into the open and waited for Tyra and Co. to arrive.  
  
It took Tyra and the others about ten minutes to get to the park. Gabor was there waiting for them, and he and Tyra swapped stories while Ruby and Yue stood at a distance and waited for them to finish.  
"We've got to find out what the deal with Li is." Tyra stated. "I know that Xen Cardcaptors have the ability to look just like anyone they want to for a time, but what if Li *is* on their side now. What do we make of that?"  
"I honestly don't know..." Gabor sounded worried. "Li's a very secretive person, but I don't think he'd just turn traitor on us and join up with the Xen Cardcaptors. What's the point?"  
Yue cleared his throat, getting Gabor and Tyra's attention.  
"I think it would be best if *we* guarded The Warrior Card until this is all over. The Xen have proven much more skillful foes than any of us anticipated. Besides which, from what I've heard it's too powerful a Card to be in the hands of amateurs like you two."  
"What?!" Tyra returned. "You're asking us to give you The Warrior Card?"  
"Sorry, but we can't do that." Gabor stated.  
"You don't have a choice in the situation." Yue retorted, wings flashing into existence. "If you will not give us the Card peacefully, we will have to resort to force."  
"You want to *fight* us for the Card?!" Gabor could hardly believe what he was hearing. "I thought we were on the same team here."  
"Ruby and I are our own team, and we do what's nessasary to protect this world. Give us the Card before things get ugly."  
"If it's a fight you want, then you leave us with no choice." Tyra retorted, pulling out Flight's Card and activating her wings. "We can't let the Card fall into anyone else's hands."  
"Same here." Ruby returned. The foursome prepared to fight, Gabor and Tyra pulling out their swords while Yue shot skyward and Ruby got into a karate stance.  
Tyra zipped into the air after Yue, dodging an elemental arrow attack from the airborne warrior. The two met in a fierce clash of superfast airborne strikes, Yue seeming to avoid each swing of Tyra's sword with impossible ease. Tyra aimed a jab square at Yue's chest, but suddenly he was no longer in front of her anymore. She looked up just in time to see Yue send her falling hard with a missile kick from above, his wings guiding with fierce precision. Tyra got her second wind at the last second, and was able to brake with her wings fast enough to avoid hitting the ground like Ctsen had done when Yue had used this move on him. She dodged an elemental arrow as she rebounded off the roof and back into the deadlocked fight.  
Gabor was having just as hard a time against Ruby Moon as Tyra was against Yue. It almost blew him away how swift she could be when she wanted to, dodging his flaming hailstone Card like it was little more than a stagnant campfire. She floored him with a rolling kick at impossible speeds, then while he was in mid-air followed it up with an uppercut, the whole combo just like something out of Street Fighters. He hit the ground with the wind knocked out of him and she quickly made use of the moment, snatching his sword away from him while he was down.  
"You should have just co-operated." Ruby chastised. "I personally don't wanna do this but you didn't give us a choice after you refused to give us The Warrior. Now, just how long do you want this fight to go on, cuz' I can fight just as long as you can."  
"Hold it!" Shouted a voice out of the shadows. All activity ceased immediately as two forms came rushing out of the darkness nearby, appearing under the light of a nearby street lamp.   
"Just what the heck do all of you think you're doing??!" Meiling exclaimed as she and Li quickly glanced over the scene.  
"Chill out, pipsqueak. I wasn't *actually* gonna kill him." Ruby said, much to Gabor's relief.  
"OK, just what's going on here?" Li demanded firmly. "I thought we were all on the same side here."  
"This is *not* your business, Cardcaptor." Yue retorted. "Stay out of this."  
"Oh yeah, sure, like he's gonna do that just because you're telling him to." Meiling scoffed, arms folded confidently. She turned to Li. "C'mon, Li, teach em' a lesson with your Time Card!"  
Li gave Meiling a 'why do you always put me on the spot like this' look, glancing semi-nervously at Yue. Yue didn't seem impressed with Meiling's enthusiasm, giving Li a stern 'make my day' ice-cold kinda look that sent a chill up Li's spine. Li took a deep gulp, gathering his courage, and addressed Yue.  
"Just what is this all about?" He inquired. "Why are the four of you fighting like this?"  
"We can't let these two weaklings keep something as powerful as The Warrior Card, not with the Xen Cardcaptors after it so badly." Yue explained.  
"They were threatening to take the Card by force." Gabor returned. "We didn't have a choice."  
"Now *this* is really dumb." Meiling huffed. "I mean, what's the point? By you four fighting you're just giving the Xen Cardcaptors all that more of a chance to kick *all* of your butts. To be honest, I didn't expect this out of people who call themselves professional Cardcaptors."  
"What choice did we have? If we hadn't stood our ground, they'd start taking potshots at us until they got what they wanted." Tyra replied.  
"Hey, I'm gonna take that personal in a minute." Ruby huffed.  
"This is all really *stupid*!" Li exclaimed, then addressed Yue. "Tyra's the rightful owner of The Warrior Card, just what right do you think you have to take it from her?"  
In the blink of an eye, Yue was suddenly standing right in front of Li, wings still outfolded and making him seem larger than life. Li half-cringed and took an uneasy step back as the Cardcaptor who was a Clow Cardcaptor's worst nightmare stepped forward for a face-to-face confrontation with Li Shoran.  
Yue's cold gaze sent a chill up Li's spine as he towered ominously over the young boy.  
"Maybe she is, but I doubt she has the skill to use it safely, and I doubt even more that she stands a chance of keeping it hidden from the Xen Cardcaptors. But now that you are here, another important matter comes to my mind. A matter that needs to be dealt with right now."  
To Li, those words were like Freddy Crugger stepping up to you and saying 'welcome to my nightmare'. He didn't want to *begin* to fathom what Yue was talking about, but apparently he was going to find out anyway.  
Tyra knew what Yue was talking about better than the Cardcaptor himself. Ruby had told Yue the story of how Li, or at least someone identical to Li, had set her up to fall into a trap set by the Xen Cardcaptors just a few hours ago, and now she swooped down next to Yue to likewise confront Li. Gabor and Ruby came up nearby, Gabor quickly snatching his sword out of Ruby's hands, to which she had no present objection. Meiling ran up alongside Li as Tyra explained.  
"Maybe you know this or maybe you don't," She started, squarely addressing Li. "But earlier tonight I got a call on my answering machine. Someone with your voice was telling me to meet you here, and that it was urgent."  
"What?!" Li exclaimed, not quite understanding. "I didn't-"  
"When I got here, someone dressed identical to you led me right into a trap the Xen Cardcaptors had set." Tyra finished. "Now, I'm well aware that the Xen are capable of transformations that would make them look identical to you, but I can't take any chances."  
"Li, you've always been a little secretive, and at times a real loner." Gabor stated, his sword transformed back into it's cross-form. "I'd like to believe it was an Xen Cardcaptor who led Tyra into that trap, but we can't risk the security of our group. We need to know for sure who's side your on."  
"Hey, my Li is no traitor!" Meiling exclaimed, rushing in front of Li.  
"That brings up another possibility." Yue stated, his usual coldness now even more serious than ever. He turned to Tyra. "Just how long can an Xen Cardcaptor retain a disguise like that?"  
"The history records I've read on them don't exactly say," Tyra said, taking her chin in her hand as she thought. "But according to intelligence-gathering missions during the Surro-Terkaan wars, it's possible they can retain another form for at least a few hours if they can keep a certain level of concentration."  
"You... you can't be serious!" Li exclaimed. "I'm no Xen Cardcaptor! Honest!"  
"We don't know how many of them there may be." Gabor stated, getting everybody's attention. He explained his story of the phone call regarding Tyra's ransom. "... and while I was spying the situation out, I saw one of them, he looked wounded, appear along with the other two. Then they all vanished, but who knows how many there may be trying to hunt us down."  
"Just what *were* you and your friend doing here when you spotted our battle?" Ruby probed. "I'd think it's much past your curfew, kiddo."  
"We were after a Clow Card." Meiling stated. "Tell them, Li."  
"It was the Dash Card, I'm sure of it." Li added, Meiling nodding in agreement. "I was at Meiling's watching a movie when all of a sudden I sensed there was a Clow Card nearby. I looked out the window and there was Dash Card. Meiling and I went after it, but it was way too fast, and when we lost it we realized we were in the park. Meiling spotted the fight and we got over here as fast as we could; I swear it's the truth!"  
"A likely story." Ruby said, doing her best to sound like a cop out of an old movie. "Got any evidence to back it up, kiddo?"  
"The Clow Cards; Li, show them your Clow Cards." Meiling proposed.  
Li nodded quickly and pulled out a stack of Cards. He showed them to Yue, who looked at each Card carefully before waving Li off. He turned and looked at Ruby. "He's the real thing. Those Clow Cards are authentic."  
Li breathed a sigh of relief.  
"But that means the Xen Cardcaptors know almost everything about us." Tyra stated. "I never thought we'd become so vulnerable."  
"We must use caution." Yue stated, then locked a cold glare on Tyra. "You'd better be able to keep that Card well hidden, Remnant Cardcaptor, or I won't need to remind you of the results."  
Yue nodded once to Ruby, who nodded in return. The two dashed off into the shadows, vanishing into the night. Gabor and Tyra didn't try to get in their way; there was no way they'd want to make enemies of those two now that they'd seen what they were capable of.  
Meiling watched them go, then turned to Li with a semi-aggravated look.  
"Why didn't you stand up to that guy, Li?" She demanded. "I thought you were a big, strong Cardcaptor; what the heck were you backing down like that for???"  
"Meiling," He returned. "Be glad that I'm alive right now. You have no idea what Yue is capable of."  
  
Chapter 5- Confrontation  
  
It was the next day, and Tyra was feeling very glad to be alive. Between getting captured by the Xen, escaping their HQ by the skin of her teeth, not to mention the fight against Yue and Ruby Moon the night before, she was beginning to get a very good understanding of her own true mortality. Flying high over the city on her way to work, she could see that God had to have been involved in the fact that the Nevot hadn't even checked to see if she was carrying The Warrior Card with her. If he had, it would have been game over right then and there.  
Now, after a hot shower and a well-deserved omelet, she was hoping for the first time this week to have a normal, battle-less day.  
She sighed, realizing the actual chances of that are slim to none.  
What she didn't expect, was for her ArchAngel guardian Virocia to suddenly pop up right in front of her. Tyra couldn't brake fast enough and suddenly flew straight through the female angel's semi-transparent form. She pulled to a mid-air stop as soon as she could and turned a 'what the heck did you scare me like that for??!' look on Virocia.  
"Glad I caught you, Tyra; we need to talk." She said, her songlike voice as-per-usual hitting a cord in Tyra's heart. She took a deep breath, composed herself, and nodded.  
"What's up, Virocia? What's so important you had to pop up right in front of me and give me a heart attack?"  
"You look pretty healthy to me." She returned.  
Apparently, angels don't have the same sense of humor that earthlings do, but Virocia got the gist of it.  
"I need to bring you up to speed, Tyra." The ArchAngel started. "As you've probably guessed, Necros is behind this whole Xen scenario just like every other time this city's been under attack at this level."  
"Yeah, I figured as much." Tyra replied.  
"But something is different this time, and we recently discovered what it is." Virocia said. "Necros has an ulterior motive involved in the Xen's potential success. We suspect he intends to destroy the Xen himself as soon as they get their hands on The Warrior Card."  
"What?! What's the point of that?"  
"Because, while their methods are anything but righteous, their cause is just. They want to protect their world from a newly-made Cosmos Card gone wild; it's out of control and everything the Xen have tried to stop it has failed."  
"What??!" Tyra could barely believe what she was hearing. Someone had made a new Cosmos Card, and now it was wreaking havoc wildly across the Xen universe? And that's the reason why the Xen were here, because they thought The Warrior Card could save their people? Tyra shook her head disbelievingly. This added a whole new dimension to the fight against the Xen Cardcaptors.  
"Only a few of the leaders of the Xen societies know about Cosmos's reign of terror, mostly because the Cardcreature was created in a remote lab far out in their universe and is now headed towards the Xen home world; Nevot and other high-ranking figures in the Xen universe have tried to keep this information hidden to prevent widespread panic and terror." Virocia explained. "... and the only way that the Xen world can be spared is if someone can use The Warrior Card to copy Cosmos's powers and then fight back against the rogue Cardcreature."  
"This... this is terrible!" Tyra exclaimed. "If I'd known this was why the Xen wanted The Warrior I would have given it to them gladly."  
"It would have availed then nothing." Virocia stated, catching Tyra's attention. Tyra gave her a questioning look as Virocia continued. "Tyra, later on today you'll be confronted by the Xen Cardcaptor Senict. She'll want to fight you to the death to avenge what happened to Nevot, . . . but you will be fighting a far different battle."  
Tyra had learned how to read the angel's eyes with great accuracy. What she read now shocked her.  
"You... you want me to evangelize to her??" Tyra only half-believed what she was hearing. Virocia nodded.  
"It's the only way. Otherwise, their people will perish. It's the first step to defeating Zetax's plan and saving the Xen worlds."  
Tyra was about to say more, but just as she opened her mouth Virocia faded off into invisibility, leaving Tyra alone to think through what she had learned.  
  
Senict, in the disguise of a human businesswoman, was waiting for Tyra at the shipping depot. She glanced at the waiting room's clock, noticing that Tyra was a few minutes late for work. Her seat in the room facing a window that looked out on the rugged building's front door, she knew that if Tyra had arrived yet she'd have seen the Remnant interferer already. Instead she waited, watching the window cautiously.  
She heard the door to the main office open and realized that she'd run out of the time she'd bought with this disguise. In a flash, she suddenly took on the body of a small ant, vanishing from view before the office door had opened enough for the secretary to have seen she was gone.  
  
Tyra landed on the roof of the building, her white cloak and wings vanishing promptly. She made her way to a nearby fire escape and climbed her way down to the ground safely. Looking around, just to be alert in case Senict was planning on showing up now, she made her way around the side of the building and walked in through the front door.  
"Enemy Cardcaptors I can handle," she thought to herself. "But this suspense is driving me crazy!"  
She punched in, saying her good-mornings to fellow workers as they passed by. Suddenly, a businesswoman with green-wood colored hair, piercing green eyes, and wearing mostly black clothing, walked right up to Tyra.  
"Good morning,... Tyra." The figure stated ominously.  
Tyra knew instantly. She'd never seen this lady before in her life, and the chances that a stranger like this knew her name was slim.  
"Senict, I presume?"  
The figure nodded quietly.  
"You're pretty sharp, Tyra, but so am I." Senict said in a low voice, trying not to draw attention to herself. "You hurt a friend of mine, and I'm here to even the score."  
"Revenge never profited anyone anything." Tyra responded, looking her opponent square in the eye. "Don't become this, Senict."  
"I don't need your morality garbage, Tyra. Our cause is just, and you are one very big factor standing between the Xen people and our being able to be human once again. Now, either tell me what I want to know, or I'll do what I have to do to avenge what you did to Nevot."  
"Senict, I know the truth now, about your entire reason for your seeking The Warrior Card. I even know more than you probably do."  
"Which would be?" She raised one eyebrow.  
"Nevot didn't tell you the other reason he's after The Warrior Card." Tyra stated. " There's another Cosmos Card, and it's headed towards your home world."  
Now, sudden shock showed on Senict's face. Realizing she couldn't keep her disguise if she didn't focus, she quickly calmed herself and addressed Tyra sternly.  
"How would *you* know that?"  
"I simply do. You'll have to trust me."  
"Give me one reason I should trust you!"  
"Because I'm not your enemy, Senict." Tyra's look was unflinching, but also not aggressive. "Our factions may have been enemies during the Surro-Terkaan wars, but that was hundreds of years ago, Senict. Isn't peace better than warfare?"  
"That's exactly the reason we need that Card." Senict stated. "Do you think the Xen people WANT to be separated from the rest of humanity for the rest of our miserable existence? But we would never be accepted just as we are, no, we could never truly return unless we once more became completely human, our entire race."  
"I accept you just as you are, Senict." Tyra stated, much to Senict's sudden shock. "You may have tried to destroy me, kidnap me, cause widespread terror and destruction, but I will refuse to be your enemy any longer. How can I be, now that I know the truth?"  
Senict was taken aback for a minute. Suddenly, though, her illusion began to flicker and she sharply shook the thoughts of what Tyra had said out of her head in hopes of not losing her disguise.  
"Just what are you trying to do to me??" Senict demanded in a low voice. "What is this *really* all about?"  
"I just want to help, Senict." Tyra said.  
"No, no more talk." Senict stated sharply. "Meet me on the roof in ten minutes. Be there and be ready to fight or I'll destroy this building and kill everyone inside."  
Before Tyra could say another word, Senict stormed off and disappeared around a corner. Tyra watched as a puff of green fog found it's way around the corner.  
'God, I hope You know what You're doing...' She thought to herself as she punched out and walked back out the front door.  
  
Senict materialized on top of the large building, her disguise suddenly vanishing in a green flash as her true form came into view. She checked to make sure her sole battle Card was still in her pocket, then waited for Tyra to show up. She didn't have to wait long; with a flap of wings Tyra, donning her Cardcaptor outfit, shot up from below the rooftop and landed agilely on the rooftop, her wings vanishing at a thought.  
"At least you're prompt." Senict mused.  
"You don't have to do this, Senict." Tyra pleaded. "What's the point?"  
"You tell me where The Warrior Card is, and I'll gladly forget about our little grudge." Senict retorted.  
"You want to know where it is?" Tyra stated. "I have it. I've had it since Sakura went through the Challenge and recovered it."  
"You?!" Senict exclaimed. "Give it to me! Now!"  
"I can't do that!" Tyra returned. "It won't help; there's a warlord named Necros who'll destroy you and the Card the first chance he gets."  
"Let him try; we need that Card!"  
"You don't know what you're up against!"  
"Right now, my enemy is you!"  
Senict wasted no time, charging up with a huge energy blast nearby as big as she was. Tyra's wings flashed back into view, but Tyra, for the moment, stood her ground, but at the second that Senict released the blast she dodged into the air evading the blast by the skin of her teeth. The blast struck the rooftop with a huge shower of dust and debris, momentarily blinding Tyra. Without warning, Senict came flying out of the smokescreen, catching Tyra in the chest with a kick that knocked the breath out of her. She fell back, Senict following up with a punch to the face which Tyra managed to dodge. She spun to the side to avoid an uppercut, then dove towards the ground as she dodged a roundhouse kick. Senict wasn't going to play this game, though, taking aim and blasting at Tyra with a slim beam of energy. It struck Tyra squarely, drilling her to the ground. Tyra hit the rooftop, the impact sending up a huge dust cloud all around her that hid her for the moment. Senict watched as the dust faded, revealing Tyra's bruised body at the center of a small crater.  
"Ready to surrender yet?" Senict demanded.  
Tyra pulled herself up slightly, energy from the beam still coursing through her body similar to electric currents. Her cloak was torn up in a few places and she looked pretty badly beat up. She was breathing hard and had to take a deep breath to compose herself before responding.  
"I won't fight you, Senict."  
"Why? What diabolical scheme are you trying to pull?"  
"No scheme." Tyra took a deep breath, clamoring to her feet with effort. "I won't fight you, because there's no way I would let myself believe your cause is hopeless."  
Senict's battle-hardened features softened for a moment in utter disbelief.  
"What are you saying?"  
"I'm saying that there's so much more at work here that you need to know about, Senict. Please, I give you my word as a Remnant Cardcaptor that there really *is* another Cosmos Card headed towards your world and the only way to defeat it is if we work together. The Warrior Card won't be enough; we can only win this fight if we fight united in both spirit and truth. Please, you must believe me, Senict!"  
These words rung in Senict's head. What was she supposed to make of this? All this time she had thought that Tyra and the others were enemy of both her cause and her people, but if that was true, then why was Tyra putting her life on the line like this for... for what? Senict couldn't understand it; it didn't make sense!  
"Noo!" She screamed, aiming a blast of energy twice her own size square at Tyra. There was no way she stood a chance of dodging this attack.  
Suddenly, something got in the way of the blast. An armor-clad female figure with tan armor and red hair materialized out of nowhere, jumping in the way of the blast and using herself as a living shield in front of Tyra. Senict couldn't believe her eyes; she'd never seen anything like this person before! Deep inside her, seconds before the blast was about to strike, . . . something clicked into place.  
To Senict's utter astonishment, a huge white transparent energy shield suddenly materialized around the new arrival and Tyra, completely and totally deflecting the powerful blast of deadly energy. Huge dust clouds kicked up everywhere as Senict suddenly felt the effects of creating such a powerful attack take full hold on her. Weakness overcame the Xen Cardcaptor as suddenly she fell back and plummeted to the ground, her body becoming a silhouette amongst the dust clouds as she fell through open air towards near certain death.  
  
Tyra watched all this happen, and the moment Senict started falling a sudden renewed fire burned deep within her soul. Dashing through Virocia's shield with a rippling like water, she raced forward with everything inside of her and threw her body beneath Senict's seconds before she would have hit the rooftop. A short gasp forced it's way out of Tyra's lungs as she absorbed the full force of Senict's deadly fall, the blow knocking the wind clear out of her.  
"Tyra!" Virocia exclaimed, rushing over to where Tyra and Senict now lay, sprawled and unmoving one on top of the other. She bent down to get a look at Tyra's face, not failing to notice the unstable energy current now coursing through Senict's drained body. "Tyra, are you alright?!"  
Tyra groaned loudly in pain as she pulled herself out from under Senict. Virocia made sure Senict didn't get hurt further as Tyra made her way out from under the limp body. Senict groaned, then opened her eyes weakly and looked up into Virocia's face with pain evident on her own.  
"... Who... who are you...?"  
Virocia glanced at Tyra, who was now sitting at Senict's other side, then looked back at Senict.  
"I am an angel, sent by the Lord God, to bring to you the knowledge of His salvation, which He offers to you this day."  
"... I... I'm not sure I... understand..."  
"It's what I was trying to tell you, Senict." Tyra said, in pain but smiling warmly. "There's a better way. Today is the day of salvation."  
Senict was about to say something in return when suddenly a wave of intense pain shot through her like a force wind, her energy-body flickering, statically unstable and getting worse. She grabbed her chest and suddenly let out a shout of pain, her other hand clenched tight and her eyes tightly shut as immeasurable fire-like pain seemed to envelop the very fibers of her being.  
"I was afraid of this." Virocia said, observing with an understanding beyond anything a human mind could conceive. She turned to Tyra with a dead-serious look on her face. "If you don't do something soon, she'll die from energy depletion."  
"Wha-what do I do?" Tyra stammered out quickly.  
"The Warrior Card; it's the only way." Virocia replied. "Quick, pull it out and use it's healing powers to return her to human."  
She nodded and, as Senict continued to reel in pain, Tyra pulled out the Card and held it in front of her.  
"Warrior Card! Release your healing powers! Restoration!"  
Light flooded off the Card in a million small energy ribbons, Tyra holding the Card at a distance as slowly each ribbon flowed seamlessly into Senict's body with a sound like a gentle blowing wind. Suddenly, Senict's pain ceased, ribbons still sending their powers to work deep inside her, as her body began to glow an intense neon blue light. When the last ribbon had found it's mark, the light suddenly faded, revealing a beautiful young girl with brown-green hair, astonishing blue-purple eyes like liquid crystals, and wearing a white-energy jumpsuit. Tyra put the Card away and helped Senict to her feet, Senict simply astonished at what had gone on. She looked at her hands in utter exhilaration, ran them over the contours of her face, then turned to Tyra with an amazed expression on her face.  
"I... I'm human!" She exclaimed. "And the pain, it's gone!"  
Virocia nodded approvingly.  
"You've been given a second chance at life, as will the rest of your people soon enough." She said, putting her hand on Senict's shoulder. "Now, I think you and Tyra should have a little talk."  
Virocia faded slowly away into invisibility, leaving Tyra and Senict on the rooftop alone.  
"Why did you do it?" Senict inquired. "You risked your life to save me."  
"How could I do anything less." She said. "Let me tell you about a friend of mine named Jesus." . . .   
  
Necros was furious. He'd stood, watching at a safe distance as the battle had commenced. He'd known all along whom The Warrior Card had belonged to, and now, setting up this grudge match where he knew Tyra wouldn't dare fight back, he had hoped to have both Tyra and The Warrior Card destroyed in the same lethal blast. He cursed under his breath. Instead of destroying Tyra, Senict was now on the verge of becoming one of the few things he hated with an ancient, burning vengence: a Christian! How had things gone so wrong?! He emerged from his hiding place as Virocia materialized in front of him.  
"This is your doing, angel!" He accused. "How dare you interfere with the Council's plans?!"  
"It was God's doing," She retorted. "And He doesn't care in the slightest for Lucifer's precious Council. Your unrighteous plots will not succeed; Senict will be the key to bring down your offensive."  
Zetax let out a short, scratchy, scoffing laugh.  
"You underestimate me, angel." He warned. "Just to let you in, rumor has it the Council is ready to pull my position if I don't win this battle, and you could understand that that would make me desperate. A word of advice, Virocia: *never* underestimate a desperate demon warlord."  
Necros's words rang true in Virocia's ears. She knew from the start that the demonic terrorist who now stood before her had been more outgoing in this plot than he had previously dared, but she had never expected he'd be playing for such high stakes. Necros, while being a fighter who never went into battle unless he had other options besides running, was not a force to be taken lightly. He and Phalyn had defeated Kai once in battle, she reminded herself, and Kai was one of the strongest warriors she'd ever fought alongside. Necros would fight to the death to keep his plans from being ruined this time.  
"This round goes to your side," Necros barked, barring one of his razor-sharp wrist blades. "But the game is just beginning, angel!"  
Later that night, in the privacy and shelter of Tyra's apartment, Senict prayed a prayer that would change everything in her life.  
(To be continued...)  
  
-----  
The Characters I own:  
Gabor, Remnant CARDCAPTOR extreme  
Tyra, AKA White Tiger  
Draeon, the mostly insane warlord from another earth  
Nevot, leader of the Xen mission force  
Senict, Xen Cardcaptor  
Ctsen, Xen Cardcaptor  
Virocia, angelic guardian  
  
The concepts I own:  
Remnant Cardcaptors  
ZaeT'kno Cardcaptors  
Darkcaptors  
Xen Cardcaptors (hard 'X' sound)  
  
  
Cardcaptor concepts I own:  
The Valconair  
The Cobra  
The Shine  
The Sign  
The Plague  
The Flight  
The Tiger  
The Thief  
The Warrior  
The Legend  
The Blight  
The Phantom  
The Cosmos  
  
Who owns everything else:  
Cardcaptors, Li, Sakura, Meiling, Kerberus, Tomoyo, Yue, and Ruby Moon are property Clamp  
Kai, Phalyn, Necros, ect... are property of Eternal Studios and ArchAngels: The Saga  
The original idea for Linking Books comes from the computer game series, Myst and Riven, owned by Red Orb and Cyan productions. They also own the character Ghen, as well as the concept ideas of the Dni.  
  
If anyone wants to create a sequel to this fic, the only condition is that you send me the sequel before distributing it.  
  
OK, now I *can* claim to know more about Cardcaptors than I did when I started, but please still don't flame me if it turns out Cardcaptors: 'The Realm Series' is nothing like the TV show/anime/manga (At long last! I can finally spell!), ect...  
  
E-Mail me at   
  
Continued in New Horizons of the Realm...  
  



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